CHbLog - Inside Edge

Man I’m stoked the Saints won in the Super Bowl. Here’s why:

1 - There was a survey a few years back that confirmed the sort of person you are according to your favorite NFL team. We all know Raider fan is, well, Raider fan but Saints fans are fun. All 98 million or so. I’d supply the link, but i’d have to scroll down through 21,200,000 references to find one not related to the Super Bowl. That’s just not fun.

2 - The Saints have the bestest cheerleader of all. No, i’m not gonna introduce you. You’ll have to take my word for it.

3 - New Orleans is in my blood.

Props to Sean Payton for being creative, coaching his underdog team to the top with lay-it-on-the-line strategy making for not only a great game, but a dynamic game. Turns out creativity is Payton’s style.

Check out my favorite Super Bowl ad. OK so it’s not a Super Bowl ad, but it should have been. If it weren’t for Mark Sanchez assuring women who watch football they’re important to him, i’d have figured advertisers were hoping i was out getting a mani/pedi. Then again, the multiple ads of dolts in tighty not-so-whities didn’t portray men as all that, either.

So, i calculated the number of calories i consumed while watching the Super Bowl. Oh Yes I Did. I ate 100 calories each of corn chips, guacamole and melba toast, plus some hummus, most of a mini-cupcake (scraped off some icing), a spinach quesadilla with a sprinkle of cheese, a bunch of plain veggies, and drank two Abita beers. Total Damage = ~1,000 calories.

If you ate things like Doritos and Lit’l Smokies and drank Bud Light, your calorie intake was surprisingly comparable with an exercise in portion control. You did exercise portion control, right? Bit higher in saturated fats and orange food coloring. Lower in nutrients.

See how fun I am?

OLYMPIC NEWS: This just in - Shaun White’s hair and Bon Jovi’s hair were separated at birth.

The Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Outside magazine had some interesting Olympic profiles. Kris Freeman is the first person with Type I Diabetes to compete at the Olympic level in an endurance sport. Doesn’t stop the man from looking calendar-ready.

General Motors Place, where the Canucks play, will be renamed Canada Hockey Place during the Olympics. Meanwhile, the displaced Canucks will play the longest road trip in NHL history.

Here’s how USA women’s ice hockey superchik Angela Ruggiero has tweaked her diet to support that laser slap shot of hers. We’re talking powerful enough that she was the first female defenseman in a Double-A Central Hockey League game back in ‘05. Here’s what she had to say about the game [http://hockey.teamusa.org/athletes/angela-ruggiero]:

After the first period, we thought that was the end of it. But I was happy to be able to get back out there again in the third period and just be one of the boys again. On that last shift, the guys were telling me to jump into the play. Luckily, I was able to get my stick on the puck and set up that goal.

CYCLING ALREADY? While D.C. sits under a couple feet of snow, pro cyclists have the first major race of the 2010 season under their spandex waistbands. Lance (5′9.5″) wasn’t impressive in the Tour Down Under in January, finishing 25th overall. As my buddy Keith says, “January’s hero is July’s zero.” And since we know Lance to be July Man, all seems well in camp Armstrong.

In a recent interview on Versus, Armstrong said he wouldn’t be competing in the 2010 Tour de France if he didn’t believe he could win it.

Other noteworthy names in the TDU included George Hincapie (12th), Cadel Evans (6th), sprinter Robbie McEwen (4th), and our buddy Big Jens Voigt (6′2″).

TIMBITS: This from the 1/15 CHL presser:

The Wichita Thunder are a team in the rare spot of trying to stay out of the record books when they play the Allen Americans on Friday night in Texas.  The Thunder has lost 20 straight games, one shy of the CHL record set by the Memphis RiverKings in the 1999-2000 season.  Wichita has not won a game since Nov. 20 when they beat Arizona, 3-2, and have won just three times this season…. 

Checking the CHL web site, looks like the Thunder stamped themselves solidly in the record books by losing that game 4-2 (though it was on Saturday the 16th) and their next game as well. They did finally win their fourth game of the season on January 22, 4-1 against Tulsa. That’s a loooong season, Wichita. Might as well enjoy a Labatts.

WORD(S) OF THE DAY: terminological inexactitude (Source: commentator during a recent, NHL semi-finals game) - refers to the lack of precise information hockey teams provide to media to describe a player’s injury, lest it be used against said injured player, thus ending participation in his team’s run for the Stanley Cup.

THIS JUST IN: A Stanley Cup champion himself, former Rangers goaltender and recent Yale graduate Mike Richter tells me of this year’s NHL playoffs,

My late prediction is and was Redwings from the West.  I thought that they would make it to the finals and actually thought Pitt was pretty darn good.  I was hoping for Capitals as i am a huge Ovechkin fan but no one seems to have the depth and discipline of the Wings.

WHO CARES: Completely unrelated, i’ve been thinking, since when did it cease to be a joyful thing for the underdog to win?

How did it come to be that when someone / someanimal wins against all odds, it’s labeled “bad for the sport”?

In the Central Hockey League the Texas Brahmas, a team that’s struggled mightily to stay in the League at all, defeated Colorado for the Championship for the first time in Brahma history.

Way to go Texas!

Arizona won last year but before that, Colorado and Laredo monopolized the Championship round four consecutive years and despite losing, Colorado managed its NYankee-ish appearance in the final round even these past two seasons.

Doesn’t it deter fan interest to have a predictable result of Colorado in the final round each season? Is it not a thrill to see what has historically been an underdog finally enjoy a slice of victory pie?

GIDDYUP: Partially quoting Rick Wright of the Albuquerque Journal, who quoted T.J. Simers of the LA Times about Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird (from New Mexico, BTW):

The sport received another death blow Saturday…. The 50-1 long shot, Mine That Bird, made for a nice one-day story, but ruins any lingering interest in the… overall Triple Crown.”

Seriously?

Anyone who knows anything about sports could predict the likelihood of another story snapping into the foundation of what would have been the original one, should it topple. Sure enough, sizeable filly Rachel Alexander caused quite a stir even before she dusted the rest of the field for an exciting Preakness Stakes win. Phew! Luckily, i allowed my interest to “linger” all of the couple days before that storyline revealed itself.

Back when Carolina won the Stanley Cup in 2006, it was asserted no one cared. I understand why less people cared passionately. Carolina isn’t a historical hot bed of hockey. Still, it seems worth the overall benefit to expand interest beyond historical hotbeds and attract a broader fan base for the long-term effect over the immediate financial bonus to the same ol’ clubs (they might argue otherwise).

It wasn’t a fluke, either. Carolina made it to the semi-finals this season. As for this year, the Red Wings are older guys a year older and the Penguins are younger guys with another year’s worth experience….

AND ANOTHER THING: To anti-fans who say there aren’t enough goals in hockey, the counter-point was made during Game 5, Chicago vs. Detroit, when the score was tied 1-1 before heading into overtime. The gist of it was, if you’re the type of person who likes a high score, you missed a great game. I’ll add you were missing some wicked sick saves - a few that were as exciting as goals for sure. Huet had been studying Brodeur’s Magic 501 (grad-level!) DVDs to make this leg pad save. Yup. That puck was blocked by Huet lifting his foot. Saw it all the way.

SCANDALOUS: I’ve said it before and those who know me know i repeat myself: Cycling is one of the best platforms for gossip and scandal.

Any sport in which the commentators use the term argy-bargy to describe the bickering antics of the athletes is worth paying attention to.

Tom Boonen has been partying like the rock star status his native Belgium has bestowed on him. Busted for cocaine a second time, Boonen is not invited to the Tour de France this year and will instead attend to rehab-type activities. Remind anyone of anybody? (Ulrich. Dude is racing cars now.)

Then you have Armstrong the Great and Levi Leipheimer’s team Astana, which is competing in the Giro d’Italia without sponsorship. In other words, riders aren’t being paid. Lance has taken it upon himself to seek a new sponsor but in his free time, he’s doing some fun stuff on the Livestrong Web site - team bus interviews with popular riders and such.

Where in the world is Alberto these days? Ah, in the Alps, training for the Tour de France of course. Good thing, ’cause it’s looking like Levi has peaked already and Lance, well, we’ll just have to wait to see.

The Giro ends May 31st. If you catch this post in time, you can watch the final stages live (they tend to finish around 9:30am-ish) on Universal Sports, since Versus couldn’t afford the broadcast rights this year.

As your small-time source for just off the radar, cool sports info, here’s the…

TIP O’ THE POST: Check out Dhani Tackles the Globe, a weekly (Mondays) special about NFL Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones’ participation in the most popular sports you’ve never heard of because they’re played in faraway places. He also dabbles in local culture and scenery. Fun stuff. Check local listings on the Travel channel. Premiering March 16, viewers caught Dhani training in Thailand to compete in Muay Thai, a sort of MMA-looking sport. The following week he was in Switzerland for Schwingen, essentially wresting in sawdust.

Stereotypical reality show bug-eating aside, this is a great theme. And guess what? Dude writes poetry, too.

SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL: What you need to know about Phoenix 2009, gleaned from a Cactus League weekend itinerary:

Friday - KC Royals vs. LA Dodgers, Surprise Stadium:

The “surprise” of the game was an appearance by Muhammad Ali. Ten rows up from the field, we could clearly see Ali rolling up in a golf cart to have his photo taken with the Royals. Super cool to get a close-up look at a legend (though he never took off his shades).

No ManRam in sight for the Dodgers. Dinner was a BBQ chicken sandwich and a Shock Top Belgian White which was, well, heaven. Hate to say an Anheuser-Busch beer is better than Blue Moon. What? Blue Moon is by Coors? Take your pick then.

Saturday - Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs at the brand spankin’ new Camelback Ranch:

The excitement at Camelback was 13,000+ fans, breaking a Cactus League record. Traffic was madness, backed up along the interstate, down the road and into stadium parking, where we were ushered to Players Parking due to overflow. The $5 fee was waived which was cool, since we missed the first couple innings sitting in traffic.

Not what you’d call a good day at the park for the Sox, who lost 13-2 despite using a starting lineup. My “turkey wrap” turned out to be a TBLT wrap, but who gets enough bacon? Italian Ice was an absolute must as we fried like eggs, sweating out a hangover and facing into the sun on the third base line.

Bonus! Our row was selected from the entire stadium to receive a free PlayStation T-shirt perfect for sitting on. Folks who weren’t so lucky looked like they’d wet their pants when they stood from their sweat-soaked, atypically large seats.

Sunday - Oakland A’s vs. Chicago White Sox at Phoenix Muni:

Say - ever watch a first baseman warm up? Holy moley, i thought maybe i should look away, but couldn’t. Suffice it to say Daric Barton of the A’s is hella flexible, which makes sense because, as my buddy the former high school ballplayer explained, he needs to catch the ball while keeping his toe on the base, even if the throw is wide. So yeah, he can do the splits. And that Yoga pose called Crow. Freakin’ show-off.

A welcome breeze and the sun at our backs made a downright pleasant day. Crowded bleachers seemed that much smaller after Camelback but sitting in back row, end seats for a mere $10 a pop gave us a little more room.

The Sox didn’t play much better than the day before, but the A’s struggled even more for an entertaining game of the less-clutch kind. When you see a guy easily catch a ball only to have it slip out of his glove, you gotta wonder:

Will i be seeing him in the minors?

The A’s rallied strong in the end, but lost 12-10. Lunch was chicken and whole bean nachos. No pizza at the Muni but giant Jose Cuervo margaritas served in plastic shakers. And our buddy caught a line drive (gave it to the kid).

HOCKEY: Mr. Martin Brodeur is the winningest NHL goaltender of all time (552 wins) as of March 17, 2009. SI’s photo gallery is worth a look.

Props also to CHL Rapid City d-man Mark DeSantis (former Scorpion playing for Rush coach Ferras, also a former Scorpion) who played his 1,000th professional hockey game on March 20. You’d never guess from the look of him.

The CHL Playoffs are under way and Odessa, as predicted, is locked and loaded - dueling it out with Laredo in the first round.

A few predictions? I say Bossier and Corpus Rio Grande first advance, Mississippi and Odessa next, and Texas takes it all. I reserve the right to change my mind before the final round (oh look! I already did!).

TIMBITS: I’m going waaay out on a limb and betting a small amount that Scorps coach Randy Murphy will be with the Eagles next season. It’s a very long shot, very short on supporting evidence and absolutely no inside info. I’m just sayin’ - some itsybitsy, curious signs are there.

Breaking news in cycling - while teammate Levi Leipheimer went on to win, Lance Armstrong crashed out of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon bike race in Spain and fractured his collar bone, meaning his participation in the Giro and Tour is still likely, but his performance could be compromised (a steel plate and 12 screws will do that). Lance claims he’s never had that happen before, making him the only remaining pro cyclist not to have broken his collar bone.

And this is how the world turns.